The year is 2019, inside New York during the darkness of night. If you listened closely throughout the late-night traffic and loud partying the sound of fighting could be heard in a shaggy alley covered in trash and smog.
Two men could be seen both wearing black suits however one of them was covered in blood. A tall black-haired man with red highlights. His body was covered in gashes. The tall man towered over a short blonde man before throwing a powerful punch that grazed the other man's ear.
The punch narrowly missed as the blonde-haired man stumbled to the right bumping into a brick wall. The blonde man leaned on the wall staring at the giant horrified before he spoke in a shaky voice.
" Joseph, w-we can talk this out- "
Before he could finish his sentence Joseph threw a swift knee into the man's stomach making him crouch over in pain before slamming an axe kick in his back propelling the man face-first into the cold dirty ground.
Joseph glared down at the man with his eyes full of rage before he started to repeatedly stomp on the man's head. The sound of bangs rhythmically echoed out as Joseph curbed stomped onto the man making blood cover the bottom of his black dress shoes.
Joseph smacked his lips before roaring out in a fit of rage.
" Talk it out? Rick, you killed my damn family. The hell, you mean talk it out? I'm going to fucking slaughter you. "
Joseph's lips trembled with rage before he reached down grabbing onto Rick's blonde hair, effortlessly lifting him back onto his feet before palming the side of his face, and shifting his weight, violently slamming Rick's head onto the brick wall.
The sound of a crack could be heard followed by a series of thuds. Joseph keeps on slamming Rick's head into the wall causing blood to splatter across the surface of the wall. After several minutes, the only sound that can be heard is Joseph breathing heavily before he lets go of Rick's head letting him collapse onto the ground back first. Rick's head is gruesomely contorted to the left with his spine sticking out the side of his neck.
Joseph glared down at the lifeless body with veins still sticking out of his forehead. Joseph started to walk towards the body until a sound he was too familiar with echoed out, bouncing off the alleyway walls.
*CLICK*
That click wasn't any ordinary instead it was the sound of a gun being pulled back. Joseph tiredly looked back seeing a white-haired elderly woman pointing a revolver at him. Joseph stared at the elder annoyed before a sad look appeared on his face, he knew this was his demise.
A cruel chuckle could be heard from the elderly woman. Before she talked in a creepy calm voice.
" Don't give me that look, Joseph. We told you the consequences of becoming an assassin. "
Joseph stared helplessly at the woman watching her finger slowly press down onto the trigger of the revolver until a thunderous gunshot rang out. The bullet twirled through the air until it slammed into Joseph's chest, destroying his heart.
Joseph's eyes began hazy as he stumbled back, blood pouring out of his mouth while he reached out to the side trying to grab onto a rustic garbage can, Joseph's legs buckled while his fingers grazed the lid of the garbage can, missing the can before he roughly fell back first onto the ground.
Joseph lay back first on the ground with blood leaking out the side of his mouth. He slowly gurgled his blood while hundreds of thoughts ran through his head...
This is it? What a shitty life. Dying on my 21st birthday after getting my family killed. My life has been nothing but a big joke. My vision is only getting blurrier and whiter. I stare forward while my vision gets whiter and whiter.
I don't know why I see white. I'm surely going to hell for all the murders I've committed. I stare at the pure whiteness until suddenly I hear a loud gasp. Out of pure instinct, I looked over towards the noise only to see a light blue-haired woman lying on her back a few feet away from me.
Well, she looks kind of like a woman except several cracks can be seen running through her body, and the outfit she is wearing looks like it from a sci-fi movie. But a better question is, how the hell was I able to move my head so freely? I glance down at my chest just to see that the bullet hole in my suit is gone.
Is this the waiting room for hell or something? I look over at the woman before speaking.
" Hey, do you know what this place is? "
She looks over at me. Her eyes are emerald green. She looks at me confused before speaking in a proper elegant voice.
" I apologize but I have no clue, sir. And if you don't mind me asking, where are your robotics? You look far too ancient. "
I look ancient? Is she from the future or is she from a different planet? But if she's from a different planet surely she would speak in a foreign dialect but it wouldn't hurt to ask.
" I don't use robotics but what planet are you from? "
She looks at me with a perplexed expression before responding to my simple question.
" I am from planet Veula. Are you not? "
Just like I thought, we aren't from the same planet. The way she speaks is far too proper to be from a futuristic Earth. I shake my head at her before speaking.
" No, I am from a planet named Earth. Did you get transported here after dying? "
She just nodded at me. So we both came here after dying. So, the theory of this being a waiting room for hell is still in play. I started to rub my chin before she suddenly spoke.
" It appears that there is a microscopic object in this space that translates our voices. But I'm curious, what is your name? My name is Aziue. "
There's an object in this room that translates our voices? How the hell did she figure that out? I quickly speak answering her question.
" My name is Joseph... "
I stand up from the pure white floor before continuing to speak.
" What was your profession on planet Veula? During my time on Earth, I was a feared assassin. "
The kind look from Azuie changes instead she looks at me with a serious expression. I start to see static electricity leak out of the cracks in her body. I stare at the cracks in her body as she speaks in a serious tone.
" Likewise. Why do you think we're here? "
She is an assassin as well? Then if we are both assassins that can only mean one thing. The air in the white room begins to crackle. I stare at her before I take a deep breath and she quickly hops up onto her feet. We lock eyes while both of our fingers begin to twitch. If there are two assassins in a room, there's a solid chance whatever entity that put us in this room wants us to kill each other.
" Truthfully, this is either the waiting room for hell or whoever put us in this room wants us to kill each other. So, what are you trying to do?"
I tightly ball up my fists as the static electricity leaking off her body increases. Sweat begins to pour down my face. The chances of me killing a robotic woman with my bare hands are low but they aren't zero. If she's robotic she most likely has a core. But where would that core be?
As we glared at each other a loud thud could be heard making both of our heads snap towards the noise. We look down at the floor and see a VHS player on the floor a couple of feet away from each other. There's a small monitor barely 10 ten inches wide and tall on top of the VHS player.
A VHS player? I glance at Aziue and she has a bewildered expression. She most likely doesn't have VHS players in her world. But where is the VHS tape? I start to feel around my body before I feel a square object in my suit's pocket. I reach into my suit before pulling out a VHS tape.
I feel Aziue's gaze staring at my body. As I flip the VHS tape around observing it. There isn't anything written on the surface of the VHS tape. Hopefully, I'll learn everything I need to know after listening to this tape. I start to walk towards the VHS player on the floor before I crouch down next to it.
While I slide the VHS tape into the player, I hear Aziue's voice speaking to me.
" What is this object? "
The VHS player clicks after I fully insert the tape into the player. I glance up at Azie before speaking to her.
" Something from my world. Think of it as something that transmits messages. We should wait for this message to fully play. Before trying to kill each other. Obviously, this isn't the waiting room for hell as I thought. "
She nods at me before the sound of static enters my ears and I look at the small monitor on the VHS player. I stare at a bunch of static before the monitor goes completely black. Is it not working? I glare at the black screen before a deep odd voice speaks.
" Welcome to the Assassin Straight. "
The eerie voice rippled. I glanced over at Aziue who locked eyes with me as the voice began to speak again.
" This is a pre-recorded message. Directed at new contestants I'm sure everyone listening to this message is confused, so please let me explain what this Assassin Straight is. "
"Assassin Straight" is a universal contest between thousands of different planets to achieve a simple goal. To be the final contestant remaining, this contest happens every ten million years. So feel honored that you can participate in it. "
" If you manage to win the Assassin Straight you can wish for anything your mind can imagine. All of your actions will be watched by higher-dimensional beings. So, please don't embarrass yourself. "
" Your first challenge will begin in three minutes so please be patient and discuss with the other contestant in your room. "
The VHS tape stops playing, as silence engulfs the white room. I quickly stand up, standing next to Aziue. I stare at the VHS player while I ponder to myself. So, if my life wasn't enough of a joke. I've been forced into basically a game for gods. Tch, and here I thought I could rest after dying.
I look over at Aziue who is still thinking to herself. She feels my gaze staring at her face and quickly looks over at me before asking a simple question.
" If you manage to win, what will you wish for? "
Honestly, I don't have a wish in mind. Or to be more precise, I can't think of one right now, my mind is cloudy and full of anger. I shrug my shoulders before answering Aziue's question.
" I don't have one. But it does annoy me that I'm being used as entertainment for gods. "
A smirk appears on Aziue's face as she speaks.
" I have to agree, death is a big part of my world's culture. And guessing from those veins popping out of your head, I'm guessing death is prevalent in your culture as well. "
I guess she is half right. I was about to speak to her until a strange sound entered my ears making my head snap to the right. I watched as a bright blue light illuminated my face blinding my eyes. I cover my eyes and stare through my fingers to see a square of pure bright blue.
I squint my eyes before I hear Aziue walk past me. I track her with my eyes before she comes to a stop directly in front of the blue square. Her shadow is cast over mine as she glances back at me and speaks.
" Hurry, and enter the portal. I doubt the being that put us in this room will give us much time to decide what to do. "
It's a portal? I nod my head and walk towards the square portal. I watch as Aziue calmly walks through it, her body disappearing as I quickly follow her into the portal. The space around me swirls rapidly around my body until three bright flashes of white flicker out and my body appears in a log cabin.
I stare forward seeing Aziue looking around confused before she glimpses back at me and speaks.
" I imagine this architect is from your world correct? "
I nod while walking towards her while looking around the room. It's just a regular log cabin, with a brick fireplace, a table, and a few sofas. However, there is an odd structure in the corner of the room that is covered in a colored cloak. I walk over to the cloak before pulling it off revealing a fancy grandfather clock. I stare at the clock confused while dropping the cloak onto the floor. I'm guessing this clock has something to do with this level.
I reach forward grabbing onto a metal handle connected to the glass door of the clock. I gently pull it open before staring at several cables and weights. I glance through the clock until I see something hidden in the grandfather's clock. A small white envelope could be seen tucked under a cable.
I reach out grabbing the envelope, pulling it out of the clock. I walk back while opening the envelope. Inside the envelope is a strange rock. I pulled the rock out of the envelope and observed it. It looks like a normal rock however, there are some types of strange minerals in it. I look over at Aziue who is staring at me before she extends her palm forward.
I flick my wrist tossing the rock into her palm. She closes her hand tightly gripping the rock. Static electricity starts to pour off the rock while Aziue tightly shuts her eyes. She is clearly doing something, it's probably for the best I don't interrupt her.
I look back at the grandfather clock and think to myself. How could that rock be connected to this clock? This clock is antique, probably from around 1717-1735. The engravings on the wood all link to the Bible in some way. There are depictions of David and Goliath and even Revelations near the center of the clock.
I brush my fingers across the fine wood before Aziue abruptly speaks.
" This rock originated from a place called England. Are you familiar with a place named England in your world? "
The rock is from England? How does a rock from England, the Bible, and a grandfather clock relate? There has to be something more to this. I start walking around the clock before I crouch over and begin to read a biblical story. While reading the story, my brain clicked.
I quickly stand back up and begin to mess with the insides of the grandfather clock. I feel Aziue gaze on my back as she stares at me confused. After a few minutes, I step back and close the glass door of the clock.
If the time on the clock is correct it's 11:35 pm. In 25 minutes the chime of the grandfather clock will play. The story I was reading on the side of the clock was about one of the sons of Jacob. Named Joseph, who was favored by his father and was gifted a colored cloak. The cloak that covered this grandfather clock earlier was obviously there to insinuate this story.
The rest of the story plays out like it usually does. However, the being who created this room clearly wanted to tell me that my name is important to decipher the meaning between the rock and the grandfather clock.
And it was, the clock's chime needed to be set to the Westminster Chime, a chime created by a man named Joseph Jowett. Luckily for me during my time on Earth, I played this chime to let my higher-ups know I had completed a mission. I looked back at Aziue before speaking to her.
" When the clock's hands hit twelve, a chime will play out but after that, I don't have any idea what is going to happen. "...